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Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Interview with Chantele Sedgwick, Author of Love, Lucas

Tell us
about your current book. Give a short summary.

LOVE, LUCAS is about a 17-year-old girl names Oakley, who is
trying to recover from the loss of her older brother, Lucas. As she struggles
with her depression, the book follows her journey of picking up the pieces of
her life and putting them back together. There’s healing, first love and a
journal full of letters Lucas left for her to help her find herself again.

Can you
tell us about your publisher and how the process worked in getting
published?

Sky Pony Press is amazing. My awesome agent, Nicole Resciniti,
submitted LOVE, LUCAS to Nicole Frail and after a few months we got an offer.
I’ve loved working with Sky Pony. They’ve seriously been so professional and
kind.

How did
you get the idea for this book?

I got the idea while I was waiting to pick up my kids from school.
I had a letter come to me, a letter from an older brother to a younger sister,
and I wrote it down. Then more letters came and it all flowed amazingly well
after that.

What is
a typical writing day like for you?

A typical writing day for me is chasing around 4 kids all day and
getting time to sit down to write after they go to bed. I write from about
8:00-bedtime Mondays through Thursdays. So, not as much time as I’d like, but
when the kids are older and all at school I’ll have a bit more free time to get
things done.

What do
you enjoy most about writing?

I love words. I love putting them on the page and watching
characters come to life. Each one is different and has their own story and I’m
so happy I get to tell them.

What is the most difficult part of
writing?

Picking which idea to start and finish. I have so many, it’s hard
sometimes to know which one is the right one.

How has
publishing a book changed your life?

It’s amazing and wonderful, but I’m still me. My family will
always come first, but I hope to publish as many as I can because I truly love
what I do.

If your
book is based on true events, how has that affected those around you or
why made you choose to use historical events?

It’s not based on true events, but I hope my book can help someone
going through what Oakley is going through. It’s hard to lose someone you love,
but you still have to keep moving forward, even if it feels like you can’t.

What
are your plans now?

Keep writing!

What is
your best tip for aspiring authors?

Don’t give up. You will get rejected, you will have hard times that
will make you want to quit. Believe me. Even after you’re published things
don’t work out like you plan sometimes. But love what you do and do the best
you can. Things always do work out in their own time.

Is
there anything else you would like to share with our readership? (Here you
can share about characters, historical facts, setting or whatever else you
would like our readers to know about your book.)

This book has a little bit of everything. A summer on a beach,
healing, first love, the bond between a brother and sister, and most fun of
all, surfing!

Do you
have a website? If so, please give the URL. If not, where can readers go
online to learn more about your book(s) and to order

PLEASE NOTE

*Stories for Children Publishing, LLC. (SFC) and its divisions do not receive any compensation for product reviews beyond a sample and/or limited access to a paid website. SFC donates all books sent for review to a charitable organization. SFC may do a contest or giveaway of samples we receive.